Attention
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: Cloud been working really hard, and Tifa feels she should cheer him up, but when he's not in too good a mood, what can she do? / CloTi fluffiness, Post-Advent Children / Rated T for sensual moments


Tifa's eyes slowly opened to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing. She slowly reached for the contraption and literally smacked the button with her left hand. She had slept rather hard, and didn't want to get up for her job of bartending. As hard as that was to believe, there were days that even she didn't want to work.  
Moving a stray strand of her raven colored hair from her face, Tifa lazily rolled over to lie on her right side, her back to her clock. She didn't want to get up, and tried to sleep a lot longer. Her left hand ran down her side, over the tight white tank top before resting on her thigh, just under the short shorts she wore. She usually wore that to bed. It constricted her chest a bit, making her take quick breaths from time to time.  
She kept her eyes closed, and when she yawned she opened them to see Cloud sleeping next to her.  
Tifa gave a quick gasp out of surprise, When did he get here?  
Cloud slept on his back, his face to Tifa. He was breathing slowly, and the blankets were down to his waist, just below his bare chest. He had his left arm under the pillow his head was laying on, and Tifa noted that his hair remained as spiky as ever even when he slept.  
Tifa came to the conclusion that Cloud had snuck in sometime in the night, since he hadn't been there when she had gotten into bed last night, unless he woke up real early to get to her. That sounded slightly creepy, but Cloud wasn't a stranger to her. She trusted him.  
Slowly, Tifa put her left hand up and stroked his hair; He looks cute when he's asleep. She gently scooted to him, her chest barely touching his and somehow she had managed to not disturb his slumber. She went further, gently caressing his cheek, like he was a precious item. Which in a way he was. A loyal friend from her childhood, maybe even more.  
She rarely saw Cloud these days, since he was usually off doing deliveries, and he was gone for days at a time. Yet, he did take time off to see her, though his conversations were short at least, they did get some time together.  
Tifa pulled the covers up over her and Cloud, feeling his warmth due to the proximity his body was to hers, and she put her left hand and his shoulder. Being like this made her feel like one of those heroines in a romance novel, being this close to a man she had known since she was a teenager, but had never gotten too intimate with.  
Actually, the only time I can recall that even comes close to this was before we headed off to Northern Crater to fight Sephiroth, Tifa thought taking a deep breath, feeling the strain of the top she wore.  
She and Cloud had been friends since they were kids, and had always felt a special bond between them, even if it had felt faint at times. Physical intimacy was something Cloud rarely gave her, though Tifa thought it had been because he was shy or insecure about being in a relationship. Every time Cloud had gotten too close  
And now, Tifa felt very secure about the fact that he had gotten into her bed, just being close to her. That thought alone brought both a light blush and a small smile to her face. And that made her feel a little gutsy.  
A sly smile crept across the woman's face as she slowly moved her body until she was hovering over him, her chest inches above his, and her hands supporting her on each side of Cloud.  
Tifa's smile got bigger as she leaned her face in closer to Cloud's, really trying to hold back the giggles from her actions as her lips were about to graze his.  
And that was when Cloud's eyes slowly opened.  
Meanwhile Tifa's eyes went wide, and she gasped as she pulled herself back and Cloud slowly sat up, "Tifa, what are you doing?"  
At immediate loss for words, as well as just not knowing exactly what she had tried to do. That was the truth and nothing but the truth, however, she felt she had to say something to help diffuse a really odd situation. "I was, uh, about to wake you up."  
Cloud rubbed his eyes, "Really? By being mere inches from my face?" Tifa noticed his tone, and it was more than likely from having just woke up, and finding his childhood friend nearly on top of him.  
Sitting on her knees, Tifa felt like she had been scolded, and now she was feeling bad, even if what she had done would be considered harmless in most peoples minds.  
"Sorry I snapped..." Cloud said as he got up from the bed, "I got done way too late during the night I'm still somewhat tired."  
Tifa watched Cloud get up from the bed and walk towards the bathroom door, walking slowly, obviously aching all over his body. Tifa began to wonder how she could cheer him up. It was Sunday, so naturally the bar was going to be closed for the day. Marlene and Denzel were with a friend and wouldn't be back until later that night, and everyone else was off doing what they had to do. So that meant that she was alone with Cloud.  
And that gave her an idea.

Cloud got in the shower and turned the hot water on almost fully, just below scalding before he turned the cold on some. So, steam was filling the room as he leaned his head against the wall, still very tired from all the errands he had to do during the night, and the fighting from various monsters that had gotten in his way. Cloud was tough, and he was sure to defeat all the creatures that he crossed paths with, but when it kept happening the time he was out and about there was a limit to his physical endurance. He had managed to finish all his errands, but it was nearly dawn when he got back to the 7th Heaven, and had Tifa not been in the bed when Cloud had gotten there he would've thrown himself on it. So, all in all, he had only gotten roughly three hours of sleep.  
'First thing I'm gonna do is relax, then maybe eat a big lunch, and then relax for the rest of the day...well, after spending time with Tifa that is.' Cloud began to wash his body of all the dirt and grime off his muscled torso with a bar of soap as he began to think about how to spend his time with Tifa. It wasn't very often that he had a day off, so he wanted to spend it wisely.

Tifa's smile grew as she quietly nudged the bathroom door open. The shower was on full blast, steam filling up the room to a degree. The fact that Cloud was in the stall, separating Tifa's eyes from eyeing him by the curtain, made the woman smile even more.  
But, as much as she wanted to see that sight, she had another idea that would be better than even that.  
As soon as she found what she was looking for, Tifa tried her damnedest in trying not to laugh as she snuck back to her bedroom.

Turning off the water, Cloud finally felt better, and a bit more awake physically. He stepped out of the shower, quickly grabbing a towel and drying himself off. Then he reached for his shirt.  
The shirt that he had put on the counter near the sink but somehow wasn't there. Upon further examination, and with confusion, Cloud noticed that not only was his shirt missing but so were the rest of his clothes. "How odd."  
Not really sure what was going on, but having a feeling that a certain raven-haired friend of his had something to do with it, Cloud took his time and wrapped the towel around his waist. Soon after he walked out into Tifa's bedroom, looking around he saw her sitting on the bed with the sheets up to her shoulders with what Cloud saw as a devious smile on her pretty face. "Tifa, you haven't seen my clothes, have you?"  
"Clothes?" She looked around, Cloud noticing she was not being serious about it, if anything she was being playful about the fact that he only had a towel to cover his nakedness. "What clothes?"  
But Cloud was not in too playful a mood at the moment, "Tifa, what did you do with them?"  
Tifa sat up, still holding the sheets to her chest, "Cloud, what will I have to do to make you less crabby?"  
Shaking his head in disbelief, Cloud took a few steps towards his dresser, deciding that arguing with Tifa was useless and to get some different clothes would be a better thing to do.  
When he opened the top dresser drawer, he was to find his second surprise in less than ten minutes. The top drawer of his dresser, which the last time he remembered had been full of socks and boxers, was empty. But not just that, his shirt drawer was also empty of its contents, as well as his pants drawer.  
Not exactly pleased with what was going on, though he had to admit that this little prank was certainly clever, Cloud turned to Tifa with his hands on his hips, "Answer this question for me: what are you up to?"  
"You had a rough night, I understand that, so I thought we could spend the day together somehow. But it wouldn't be enjoyable if you were in the wrong mood, so I thought I'd get your attention first," Tifa explained.  
Cloud's hands fell to his sides, seeing as he had been a bit snappy earlier, "Guess so...I was going to make up for my lack of attention towards you somehow, you know."  
"With all the business we've got, I knew you'd have less time for me and the kids, but none of that was ever your fault."  
"Still, you can probably get a decent idea of how much it hurts me to not be able to spend time with you. Recently its been the same: sleep, work, eat, then its sleep all over again. It's an unending cycle it seems."  
Tifa nodded in agreement, "But you care about us, that's why you work so hard, so we all understand."  
Cloud took her words in, and while he knew all along that Tifa knew he worked hard, hearing her say what he believed all along took most of the weight off his shoulders. And for him, that was a boost in his spirit "Thank you Tifa."  
_ He tries at least,_ Tifa thought still smiling, "Your clothes are in the closet, all in piles."  
Cloud nodded and went towards the closet, "Sorry if this sounds rude, but being dressed only in a towel with the air conditioner on is not too good a predicament for me." He opened the closet door and went back to the bathroom to change. He got in a and quickly changed into a pair of jeans.  
Tifa giggled then got up on her knees as Cloud came back out, "Hey Cloud, I got a question for you."  
"Now that you have your clothes back, maybe you can help me find all mine?"  
Not too sure he heard her correctly, Cloud swiftly turned his head towards Tifa, and the moment he made eye contact with her she let the sheet fall to the mattress.  
Cloud's eyes went wide as he saw Tifa was completely naked. Forgetting all about his own clothes, Cloud walked up to Tifa, admiring all of her up close, "Was this what you were hoping to carry out all along?"  
Putting her hands to Cloud's sides and having them slowly go up to his shoulders, Tifa took her time while she enjoyed herself. She also pulled Cloud to her, her chest pressing against his torso. For Tifa, she wasn't trying to hide how happy she was now, "Maybe."  
Cloud's right hand went up Tifa's bare back and caressed the length of her hair just before Tifa went in to kiss him.


End file.
